Health care, tuition, war among key concerns

Apr. 13, 2008

Written by

Theresa Juva

The Journal News

Growing up as a child of immigrant parents is one reason Cesar Quintanilla of Yonkers hopes to vote for Sen. Barack Obama in November.

"He will see how a young man like me will struggle - a son of immigrant parents," Quintanilla said of the presidential candidate. "Everything I do for my future, he will understand."

The 18-year-old said voting for the first time will be special because he will be voting on behalf of his parents, who are not citizens. Quintanilla said he hopes that life for immigrants will be easier than it was for his parents. Having come to the United States from El Salvador in 1990, his father works as a landscaper, while his mother has a job in a car parts factory to support their three children.

"They have to struggle to put us through college," he said. "All the hard work they've done, it's made me a better person. I appreciate everything they've given me."

Yet not everyone is as energized about the opportunity to vote for the first time, according to an informal survey of about 100 newly eligible voters conducted throughout Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties by The Journal News.

For 20-year-old Iona College student Kenny Horan, an interest in politics doesn't go beyond the "Ozzy for President" T-shirt he wore while walking down North Avenue in New Rochelle recently.

"I don't like the candidates; they don't draw me in," he said. "None of the candidates are conservative enough."

While Horan isn't enraptured by any of the presidential choices, 20-year-old Alexander Daniel of Elmsford is stumped by the political process and said he has no idea how to register to vote. He also acknowledged that he knows little about the candidates, though he doesn't think being informed is important when it comes to casting a vote.

"Most people will vote just to see a black president or a woman president," he said.

Unlike many of his peers who won't vote in November because of apathy, Jeffrey Sorel of Pomona refuses to vote because of his dissatisfaction with the Electoral College.

"I don't like how the Electoral College vote works and how it severely overpowers the popular vote," the Marines-bound 17-year-old said, referring to the 2000 presidential election in which Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election based on electoral votes.

Sorel said even though he doesn't plan to vote, he supports Republican Sen. John McCain.

"I just know the two things that are important to me are gun control and health insurance. Gun control is one of the most important things we have to establish," he said, explaining that he thinks "the only people who should be able to have firearms are officers of the law, federal agents and people in the armed services."

After seeing his friends struggle to find jobs and obtain health insurance, Nathanel Wehudah, a 23-year-old travel agent from Mount Vernon, will be voting for the first time.

"I didn't vote in the past, but I'm trying to get in the flow," he said, adding that he plans to vote for Obama, a Democrat.

Saeed Faghihi of Briarcliff Manor hopes Obama can reverse what he thinks is wasteful spending under President Bush.

"I'm 18 years old, and I work a lot," he said. "Half my taxes will go over to that war. That money should be spent over here for schools, and we should be spending money on health care."

Faghihi has gravitated to Obama because he feels a personal connection with the Illinois senator, who is also the son of a Christian mother and Muslim father.

"Generally, when you can relate to someone in the same manner, you have the same views," he said. But Faghihi is convinced that what makes Obama unique as a candidate is also what "will work against him," especially in the South.

Some first-time female voters feel the same personal connection with the other Democratic candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Sandra Mastrangelo of White Plains said she is excited about the prospect of voting for the first woman president.

The 18-year-old called Clinton a "motivated woman" and said she admires her for breaking into a male-dominated arena. Mastrangelo, who will attend Brown University in the fall, hopes to do the same in the world of medicine by becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

One of her primary concerns heading into the election is paying for her Ivy League education.

"Considering it's $49,000 a year, tuition breaks would be helpful," she said of keeping federal student loan interest rates low. "A lot of my friends have issues paying for school. College tuition is important."

But not all young women plan to rally around Clinton. Cristina Giansante, a 17-year-old from White Plains, said she "gets this eerie vibe" from Clinton, which leads her not to trust the New York senator.

Giansante is torn between Obama and McCain. She characterizes Obama as an "awesome public speaker," though she likes McCain's views on keeping troops in Iraq until the country has stabilized.

"I have no idea who I'm voting for," she said. "If I had to vote now, I'd be in a lot of trouble."

Robert Gewirtz of Brewster wishes there were a way to mix Obama's optimism with Republican Rep. Ron Paul's emphasis on constitutional rights. It's "what we need to get back on track," he said.

The 17-year-old is concerned about keeping jobs on U.S. soil.

"My dad is a software developer, and a lot of companies are outsourcing to India," he said. "He has his own business, and it's hard to deal with companies when they are running it out of another country. A lot of his friends have lost their jobs."

Gewirtz said he hopes the next president will be brave enough to acknowledge the inevitable mistakes he or she will make.

"Everyone wants a virtuous president," he said. "Virtue is what creates conflicts, if you always think you are right. You need courage to admit you are wrong and an open mind to realize you are wrong."